Electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition of fluorine doped tin oxide

Dense and adherent fluorine doped tin oxide films were successfully deposited onto glass substrates using a novel, cost-effective electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition process. A mixture of tin acetate in the presence of HF in methanol was used as the precursor for deposition onto float glass at 550 degreesC. The influence of substrate temperature on deposition was established. The microstructure of the film was established by a combination of XRD, SEM and AFM measurements. Raman spectroscopy was used to examine the prepared film in comparison with a commercial sample. The results show that the films are polycrystalline, highly conductive (electrical resistivity of 2 x 10(-4) Omega cm) and have a high transmission of 78% in the visible range.(C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.